Thursday, July 26, 2007

Hollywood Circuit Series #2

Man, whodathunk I'd fall for Crits?

When I saw my first Criterium, I swore that I would never, ever do one. They freaked me out! As I got to watching them, I started to think they would be a great learning opportunity, since the 2 things about cycling that scared me more than anything were pack-riding and cornering. So, I tried Northfield....and got lapped. I rode my tail off at Hopkins...and got a top 10 finish! Last week's HwoodCritwas a blast, but I cracked off the back after my solo flyer. At the St. Cloud crit, I did it a little better, taking 6th.....

Come Tuesday night, my body wanted to rest, but I had things to practice and learn and try ..... The temps were through the roof and the air was thick. Riding, though, was slick! The course had a crazy hairpin that Jay was running me through to teach me it correctly. There are a couple new faces on the scene, and I had a lot of fun trying to feel out the field for the first couple laps. I was having a blast cranking out some sprints when the field would sit up. It's not like I was dying to win - I just wanted to practice out there and figure some things out. What better time than a midweek race, eh? One sprint just so happened to pop a couple gals of the back, finally breaking up the field. After 3 days of racing, my body could barely recover and I dropped from the leader group. Pritz-tastic flatted on some rubble, disrupting her chase, too. I ended up TT'ing it 100yds behind the 3 leaders all the way to the finish, never losing place, but also never catching up. It was a hard race but so much fun! The 4th place finish was pretty amazing, too!

As for Jay, he rode Fabulously! Jay took 4th in the Master's 35+, riding like a new man. The heat, however, kept him out of the 1/2's race, but that worked out just perfectly in the end....we got to get home early! The rest of the Silver Cyclist's came out in style as well - Matt Muyers took 3rd in the 35+ race after a strong charge to the finish. I'd throw out a shout-out for the rest of the team, but I'm terrible at remembering times and they're just not posted yet. If you want to check 'em out for yourself, go to www.mcf.net.

Some of my favorite quotes

"I'd get pregnant for $400 million" - my dad........ "A party isn't a party until Geno drinks a butt" - Hollywood.........a sub 12 yr. old kid was asked how he felt after finishing a 25mi. road race - his answer was "Like John Lennon going through heroine withdrawls" - was Lennon hooked on the H? ........ "My hair smells like beer. You can suck on it later." - Leslie, on top of Brits Pub......"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin